PREDICTING ORGANIC CRYSTALS USING SCREENING STRATEGIES

Not Available Design and synthesis of inorganic-organic hybrid materials are proposed to improve the chemical, abrasion, and flame resistance of polycarbonates . We propose the formation of hybrid materials, in which hard, stable inorganic segments are incorporated into a polycarbonate oligomer, in two different pathways; a) Exfoliation of silicates in a polycarbonate matrix: Layered inorganic silicates (e.g., montmorillonite), will be exfoliated directly in a polycarbonate matrix, and the resultant layered silicate-polymer network (LSPN) is expected to have better mechanical strength, chemical inertness, and toughness than the original polymer. b) Incorporation of silsesquioxane cube clusters in polycarbonates: Cubes [(RO) SiO1. 5] 8 have robust, well-defined polyhedral structures, and hence are chemical and abrasion resistant by nature. Appropriately functionalized cubes can be introduced into a polycarbonate polymer, by cross-linking reactions, and the cubes are expected to impart abrasion resistance and inertness to the resultant hybrid polymer. Commercially available polycarbonates will be used for the formation of hybrids. The effect of varying ratios of the inorganic to organic segments on the properties of the hybrid will be studied to arrive at an optimum composition. The approach, which leads to promising results, will be developed further to produce polycarbonates with improved properties. BENEFITS: Potential commercial applications include: 1) hard, tough, transparent